Somewhere In My Memory
by 2OwlsATweeting
Summary: "I fell in love with him the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." Hermione contemplates significant memories from their Sixth, Seven, and Eighth Year as she walks down the aisle, towards him, on their wedding day.
1. Grey Eyes, Puzzles, and Mockingbirds

**Disclaimer: We do not own any of these characters, if we did perhaps Draco and Hermione would have ended up together... But seeing as they did not, JK Rowling owns them.**

_**Chapter One~ Grey Eyes, Puzzles and Mockingbirds**_

He knew the day had been coming... It was inevitable. But until he saw her standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by all her bridesmaids, dressed in her white dress, he hadn't really believed she was marrying him... Draco Malfoy, of all people. He hadn't really understood it then and he was still struggling _to_ understand it. Until three years ago they hadn't really gotten along... Well that was an understatement. Harry supposed things had started to change in Sixth Year... At least that's what Draco had told him. But how much of what Draco had said could be true? He took a deep breath and knocked on the already open door.

"Hermione?" She turned around to look at him, her Stella York wedding dress twirling around with her, a radiant smile on her face. The dress was strapless and white with a long, tulle princess skirt. The intricately beaded belt that hugged her waist at Draco's insistence that Malfoy women _must _have some sparkle was the only glitzy accessory on the dress and the utter simplicity of it took his breath away; it was absolutely perfect for her. Her hair was twisted into an elegant knot, not unlike the one she had worn at the Yule Ball so many years ago. But the smile on her face was ten times brighter than it had ever been in Fourth Year. After all, she was getting married to her 'true love' today. Well, that's what he hoped.

"How do I look, Harry?" He didn't think her smile could get any wider.  
"Draco's really lucky." He grinned.  
"You really think so? Because Ron never liked my hair like this... He said it made my head look too small..." Her smile lost some of it's radiance at the mention of their estranged friend.  
"Ron doesn't know what he's missing." Hermione turned away from him to face herself in the mirror one last time, biting her lip nervously.  
"Don't worry Hermione." He reassured her. "You're making the right decision. You always do."  
"I know." She smiled. "I'm always right." She winked at him.

"Okay then." He laughed as he offered her his arm. "Let's go, we shouldn't keep Draco waiting, it's a known fact that Malfoy's aren't very patient people... Perhaps you could be the one to change that." Hermione laughed, her eyes shining. The pair began to walk down the hallway to the adjoining room outside the church's main doors.  
"Harry," Hermione began causally, "You're his best man, so you should know this... Does he look nice?" He smiled to himself.  
"Hermione, I think only you or a gay man would be able to determine that. And, might I add, I'm not gay." Hermione laughed at her best friend's words.  
"Let's go get me married."

The doors were opened, revealing the large, crowded church. "Harry? Harry!" She frantically felt around for his hand.  
"Hermione," he whispered. "I'm right here beside you. He's right there waiting for you. You're right here, and everything is going to be perfect." He grasped her hand tightly and began to walk her towards the large, wooden doors that barred the way to the aisle. She peeked around the door, looking away from the crowd for the very first time and up to Draco. Grey eyes met brown, and suddenly she was taken back to the first time their eyes had really met. It had been Sixth Year in the Great Hall, during breakfast one morning. She had been trying to avoid Cormac Mclaggen's wandering eye when instead, she had caught his.

_Sixth Year, Great Hall_

_His eyes had always been the same shade of intense grey. Always. So why did they seem so different all of a sudden? Why was it that whenever their eyes met she felt something other than the desire to strangle him? It didn't make any sense... He was the boy who had caused her teeth to grow, the one she had punched in Third Year. He was the boy who had given her so much grief about being a Muggleborn, about being ugly. So why did she feel so beautiful when he looked at her like that? A smile tugged at the corners his mouth and he didn't even try to hide it. He would have tried to hide it before. Her thoughts concerning Draco Malfoy were shattered when Ron began tugging profusely at her sleeve._

_"Hermione! What in Merlin's name are you doing!?" He cried. His face was beginning to turn a blotchy shade of red that matched his hair._  
_"I was trying to think of all the homework I have to do tonight, before you interrupted me." She snapped, a faint blush coloring her cheeks._  
_"You're lying to me, Hermione. I saw you looking at Draco Malfoy." He leaned in, "I saw that look he gave you, that look you gave him. Don't pretend." She set her jaw, and leaned in as well._  
_"I won't pretend if you won't."_  
_"What are you talking about?" He hissed, through clenched teeth._  
_"Don't pretend to have a say in my love life, don't pretend that I really care what you think. And don't pretend that I like Draco Malfoy."_

_"Hey!" Harry had leaned his head in, joining their ridiculous powwow. "Uh guys, people are looking, so maybe we could go somewhere else to talk about this-" Hermione interrupted him._  
_"Never mind, I'm going to the library." Hermione snapped her book shut and ran from the Great Hall. Neither her, Harry nor Ron noticed the pair of silver eyes that followed her retreating form._

"Harry?" She whispered, leaning her head slightly against his shoulder. "Do you think Ron will come today? I mean, I didn't invite him... But do you think he might come anyway?" She tried to keep her voice from shaking. After all, what did she care if Ronald Weasley did or didn't come to her wedding?

"Hermione, this is Ron we're talking about. I wouldn't think so. He would never come to congratulate his enemy on marrying the girl _he_ loved." Hermione nodded, and pulled away, looking back into Draco's grey eyes. Memories began to resurface. She remembered that day so vividly... Her and Ron had had another fight, resulting in yet another shouting match, Ron making out with Lavender Brown yet again, and Hermione's tears, once more. Normally their disagreements concerned homework, Ron's emotional constipation, Qudditch, Lavender Brown, Crookshanks, Viktor Krum and many other trivial matters. Though, at the time, they had seemed so important...

This fight had been different, and Hermione and Ron's relationship had never been the same after. Ron had been carrying on about Draco Malfoy and all his petty crimes. Quite honestly, she had had enough. She snapped. She felt that Draco needed someone on his side, for once. So she had defended him. She never regretted doing so and she had never apologized to Ron. She blinked and the church was once again transformed into Hogwarts.

_Sixth Year, Stairwell_

_"Granger?" The brunette looked up, hastily wiping away the tears that streaked her face. "Have you been crying?" His voice was unnaturally soft._  
_"If you've come here to gloat, Malfoy, fine. Go ahead... Congratulations, you've won."_  
_"Actually, I'm not here to gloat, believe it or not." She raised an eyebrow._  
_"I don't._  
_"Figures." He shrugged and sat down on the stone steps beside her. A moment of silence passed between the two before Draco spoke again. Hermione was surprised that the silence wasn't an uncomfortable silence._

_"I heard what you said to Weasel back there..." She sighed, looking down at her hands which were intwined in her lap._  
_"I said a lot of things to Ronald back there... You're going to have to be more specific."_  
_"You said that I wasn't a bad person." His swirling grey eyes penetrated hers. Hermione was quite for a moment. "Did you mean it?" Hermione paused, considering her answer._  
_"I don't believe that anyone is a bad person... Yes, some people, including yourself, have made bad decisions in the past that put not only themselves at risk, but others too... And yes, some people have done terrible things... But that doesn't make them evil... I believe that everyone deserves a second chance."_  
_"Even me?" His voice was small. Hermione smiled slightly._  
_"Yes, Malfoy. Even you."_

_Draco didn't understand it. For years, he had gone out of his way to make this girl's life a living hell... This was the girl whose teeth he had caused to grow abnormally large in Second Year... This was the girl who he had once hoped would be tortured by Death Eaters at the World Cup... This was the girl that he called Mudblood at least once a week... This was the girl who he never passed up a chance to send a jinx her way or knock her books over. And here she was telling him that he wasn't a bad person. How could this girl be so incredibly_ good?

_"How do you do it?"_  
_"Do what? She looked over at him._  
_"Not hate me."_  
_"I've never hated anyone, Draco."_  
_"But I've been horrible to you... I- I wanted you to be tortured once..."_  
_"Why?" Her question startled him._  
_"I- I don't know..." He admitted._  
_"Am I really that terrible?" She paused, watching his pale face. "Yes," she admitted, "There have been many times where I have had to repress the strong desire to throttle you or punch your pale, pointed face." Draco laughed at this._  
_"Well as I recall, you did once."_  
_"You were being a prat!" Draco's lips turned upwards into what could have been a smile._  
_"You're right," he admitted. "I was being a prat... And I deserved a slap in the face."_  
_"Did you hate me after that?" She asked. Draco chuckled slightly._  
_"Quite the opposite really... I admired what you did."_  
_"Really? You admired me when I punched you in the face?" Draco shrugged._  
_"You surprised me." Hermione looked over at him. "What?" He shifted under her gaze._  
_"You're very strange, Draco Malfoy..."_  
_"Strange?"_  
_"You're a mystery to me, a puzzle that I can't quite solve."_  
_"Well," Draco quipped. "You let me know when you figure me out."_  
_"Would you let me?" Hermione asked. "Figure you out, I mean?" Her chestnut brown eyes searched for something in his piercing grey eyes. Draco thought for a moment._  
_"Perhaps."_

_The stairwell fell silent once more._  
_"I don't want to be the reason you and Weasley never speak again..." Draco said, avoiding her eyes._  
_"You're not the only reason, Malfoy." Hermione sighed. "A fight like this was bound to happen anyway... You were just the catalyst." Tears began to prick at the corners of her eyes once more. Draco glanced over at her._  
_"He's not worth your tears, Hermione... He doesn't deserve you."_  
_"What did you just say?"_  
_"I said that he doesn't deserve you-"_  
_"No, before that. You said my name... You said Hermione."_

_Draco rose to his feet, looking down at her. "Well what else am I supposed to call you? That is your name, is it not?" Hermione gaped at the man standing in front of her. She was beyond disbelief._  
_"I'll see you around... Hermione." She thought she caught the ghost of a smile flicker across his face before he disappeared._

There was once a time that Draco's eyes had been hazy, unfocused. There were times were his eyes were wild and terrified, like a caged animal's. And there were many times in Sixth Year that his eyes hardened like steel, becoming cold and unforgiving, filled with fury. She remembered the day that his swirling silver eyes had glistened with unshed tears... There had been no malice in his eyes that day, only heart-wrenching brokenness, fear and vulnerability. Draco Malfoy was exceptionally skilled at hiding his emotions, maintaining a poker face and his cool, indifferent facade. Professor Trewelany had once said that eyes were like windows to the soul... Hermione begrudgingly admitted that this was true.. It was his eyes that had always betrayed him.

His eyes danced with unrestrained happiness today. No longer were they glittering with malice. They were bright and beautiful. Yet, there laid a haunting darkness. The darkness had been repressed, but she knew that it would never vanish. It had been a part of him, what he had done would never go away...

_Sixth Year, Room of Requirement_

_She had been in the Room of Requirement for hours. It was the one place in the entire castle that she could really think. When he first came in, she stayed silent, hoping that he would leave soon. But that just wasn't the case._

_When he pulled the drape off the Vanishing Cabinet, she covered her mouth with her hand, stifling her gasp of horror. It wasn't possible... The Cabinet resided in Borgin &amp; Burkes. She had seen it before the school term began whilst following Draco. The man in question gently placed something into the cabinet and closed the doors, resting his head against the door. With great caution she crept forward, unsure of her intentions._

_"Draco?" Her voice was higher than normal. He whirled around at the sound of her voice, panic stricken._  
_"Granger?" He growled. "What are you doing here?" He calmed down slightly, but his shoulders remained tense._  
_"I uh, I come here to think sometimes..."_  
_"You shouldn't be here." He answered gruffly, turning away from her._  
_"You're here." She stated, inching closer._  
_"Well, I don't have a choice." He snapped._  
_"What are_ you_ doing here, Malfoy?" She asked him curiously. He moved his pale hand in front of the cabinet lock, almost as if he was guarding whatever lay inside._  
_"Nothing." He glared at her. "I come here to think." Hermione nodded, skeptical._

_A sudden whisper from inside the cabinet broke the stillness of the room._  
_"What was that? Just your mind thinking a loud?" She teased._  
_"Get out." He hissed, his eyes flashing._  
_"I'm not leaving." She crossed her arms across her chest defiantly._  
_"No?" His voice was dangerously soft._  
_"I want to see what's in that cabinet..."_  
_"Stay out of it, Granger." His hands curled into fists at his side._

_"Why?" She cried out. "What are you so afraid that I'll find out about?" Draco lunged forward, slamming her back into the cabinet, his body pressed against hers, his hands on either side of her head, preventing her escape._  
_"Don't you dare presume me to be afraid." He spat. The word tasted like poison in his mouth. "Perhaps I'll send_ you_ to the other side next time..." Hermione's eyes widened in fear._  
_"The other side?" Horrific realization washed over her._  
_"I'd be doing the world a favor, anyway," he continued thoughtfully. "No one would miss a know-it-all Muggleborn..." So there was a twin cabinet... There was a pathway from Borgin &amp; Burkes that led straight into the heart of Hogwarts..._

_"For God's sake, Malfoy!" She cried, tears filling her hazelnut eyes as she struggled against him. "Just open the damn door!"_  
_"No!" The was a tone of finality in his voice. Hermione was sure there would be a bruise on her back come tomorrow morning._  
_"Stop it," She whimpered. "You're hurting me."_  
_He leant down, his breath caressing the shell of her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "Leave, Granger," he hissed. Hermione's heart raced at his sheer closeness._  
_"No. I want to see what's inside." Hermione pushed him away from her with all her strength and whirled around, fiddling with the ancient lock. A thrill of terror raced through her body when she finally succeeded in unlocking the cabinet._  
_"Hermione, no!" The wooden doors opened with a resounding crash._

_"Oh, Draco." Her eyes remained fixated in horror on the dead bird lying limply within the cabinet. "What have you done?" She whispered. He shook his head frantically, willing the tears to go away._  
_"Draco, please," she begged. "Please don't tell me that this is nothing. It_ is_ something if that lifeless bird was alive not five minutes ago... Did you do this?"_  
_"I didn't kill it. I_ can't_ kill it. How could I? It's innocent, defenseless... But it's my fault that this mockingbird will never sing again." His voice broke. "I'm weak." He had begun to shake._

_"Relinquishing the power that you hold over a living creature, whether it be a man or a tiny mockingbird is not weak, Draco. That's strength."_  
_"I think_ he_ would disagree, don't you?"_  
_"Where did you send it?" She asked him softly. His beautiful, haunting, silver eyes looked like a shattered mirror._  
_"I think you know..." He chuckled darkly. "You're too smart for your own good, Hermione Granger."_  
_"You sent the bird to Borgin &amp; Burkes, didn't you?" Draco remained silent. "And there was someone on the other side waiting, wasn't there? To verify that the bird made it through safety... By killing the mockingbird he or she told you with not so many words that it had worked..."_

_"Please don't tell anyone." He sobbed, sinking to the ground._  
_"No, no." She knelt down in front of him, taking his head in her hands and drew him close, holding him. "This stays here. All of it. What you say to me, what I say to you, and most of all, this_ thing_ that you are doing. I don't want to know what you're doing, I don't care. But I do care about you, Draco. You_ need_ to leave this behind you. This will be the biggest mistake of your life... and it's consequences? Draco, the consequences of this mistake will be deadly. Please avoid it... I- I don't want you to die." She reached out and grasped his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "If you care about anything or anyone at all, than you will leave this all here, while you still have the chance." She began to walk towards the door._

_"If I left this all behind, Hermione- would this new world, would it include having you?" She stayed facing the doors, her hand brushing the brass doorknob, allowing herself a small smile._  
_"Perhaps," she whispered, not looking back._

"Hey, Hermione?"  
"Yeah, Harry?" She whispered back, clearly distracted. Her best friend paused.  
"Do you really love him?" The question snapped her back to reality. This was the question she had been waiting for. Everyone else had already asked her. Everyone but him.  
"I really love him. I love the way he makes me feel. I love the way he makes me laugh. I love the way he looks at me. I love talking to him. I am in love with him. He is a good man, Harry. He makes me so happy, so alive."  
"A good man with lots of mistakes." He mumbled.

"There will never be a perfect guy, Harry. Every good man comes with his own baggage. It's just a matter of if you're willing to accept all that baggage."  
"And are you, Hermione?"  
"Yes." The finality in her voice booked no room for argument.  
"He treats you well? Like a princess?"  
"Harry, this is Malfoy we're talking about... I have been spoiled beyond measure. He's treated me better than anyone ever has." Harry shot her a pointed look. "Other than you of course."

"You love him?"  
"Yes, Harry. I really do." She smiled that same small smile. She had finally achieved her ultimate goal: earning Draco Malfoy's love.

**Author's Note: Love it, like it or hate it, please give us some feedback! We always love hearing from our readers and your reviews motivate us to update faster! Constructive criticism is welcome, but we ask that flames be kept to yourselves... If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all :) This is our first Dramione fanfic that we are doing together (we have previously co-authored 2 Percy Jackson fanfictions) and we are very excited about this story! This story will most likely be a three-shot (with perhaps a fourth chapter for "deleted scenes") outlining significant moments from Draco and Hermione's Sixth Year, Seventh Year and "Eighth Year." Please R&amp;R!**

**~Katherine and Kathleen **

**(2OwlsaTweeting)**


	2. I'll Look After You

**Disclaimer: We are not millionaires. Therefore, we are not J.K. Rowling and we will probably never be able to purchase the rights to Harry Potter and it's characters... It's sad, but true. **

**Chapter Two~ I'll Look After You**

As her chestnut eyes scanned the buzzing crowd that was gathered inside the church, anxiously awaiting for the arrival of the bride, she wasn't surprised to see hardly anyone on Draco's side of the church. They had decided it would probably be best to keep the Granger guests separate from the Malfoy guests during the ceremony… Hermione thought that the "accidental" incineration of a loved one might put a bit of a damper on the wedding… With his father and the majority of his former Slytherin classmates locked away in Azkaban, or dead, the number of Granger guests far outnumbered the Malfoy guests.

Narcissa Malfoy sat in the front row, a happy smile on her face. She had been ecstatic when Draco had brought Hermione home for the first time, claiming that it was only a matter of time until she could spoil a grandchild. Over the years, Hermione had grown steadily closer to the pureblood witch, and it was Narcissa who had taken Hermione dress shopping in the absence of her own mother. Draco's childhood friends Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott stood beside her soon-to-be husband on the alter, laughing at something Draco had said.

Pansy Zabini neé Parkinson sat next to Astoria Greengrass, glaring daggers at her husband Blaise, who had dragged her here against her will. While Hermione and Astoria had struck up a tentative friendship over the past years, Pansy simply refused to accept Hermione, despite Hermione's best attempts to remain civil. Hermione supposed it was because Pansy was still hung up on her "Darkie-poo." Andromeda Black sat next to her sister, and Blaise's parents sat on Narcissa's other side, having been like second parents to Draco. However, two years ago, those pews would have been crowded with Draco's old friends, his Death Eater friends. And that thought saddened Hermione even more.

_Seventh Year, Horcrux Hunt; Diagon Alley_

_"__Have you lost your mind?" Hermione hissed. "What if someone catches us?" She looked around the alleyway nervously. The familiarity of the streets had vanished and its dark, abandoned shops were boarded up, giving the once vibrant streets the appearance of a ghost town._

_"__They won't. Who would possibly think that we would go to a place as obvious and open as Diagon Ally?" He asked her, keeping his eyes trained ahead._

_"__Anyone with a brain?" She muttered under her breath. They had walked only a few paces when she suddenly turned around. "Harry," She whimpered, clutching his shoulder, her nails digging into his back._

_"__What?" As he turned around in the darkness she saw his eyes dilate. "Malfoy," he breathed. Draco hadn't seemed to have noticed them in the shadows._

_"__It's okay… He won't hurt us. He's good now, he's changed." Hermione tried to reassure herself and Harry._

_"__He isn't who I'm worried about… Hermione, look." He pointed to the group of men in masks and hoods following Draco._

_"__Death Eaters."_

_"__Worse," Harry replied, not taking his eyes off the group. " 're Death Eaters working for the ministry to catch Muggle-borns and blood traitors."_

_"__And you. Harry they're looking for you…" She tried to step back lightly, but ended up stepping on Harry's foot instead._

_ "__Oh, God!" He cried out, forgetting about being quiet._

_"__What was that?" Draco turned around sharply. "Who's out there?" He began walking towards the dark alleyway that lay between two shops where Harry and Hermione were hidden."Hermione?" He whispered frantically. "Hermione if you're here, you need to leave… Now. They will kill you."_

_"__Draco? What is it that you see back there?" Fenir Greyback called. Draco drew himself up to his full height, and turned back to face the werewolf, his imposing stance radiating his superiority._

_"__Nothing," he replied smoothly. "I see nothing. Whatever was here must have had enough sense to leave." Hermione smiled to herself. Perhaps her feelings were shared… Perhaps he did like her after all._

_"__Are you quite sure? Because I still smell something, Draco."_

_"__And what is it that you smell, Werewolf?" Draco sighed impatiently, pinching the bridge of his nose. A roguish, predatory smile curled on Greyback's scarred face. He closed his black obsidian eyes, sniffing the air, and growled hungrily, barring his sharpened fangs. "Perfume," he hissed. Harry clamped his hand over Hermione's mouth, stifling her squeak of terror._

_"__And you say that you are a canine?" Draco shook his head in disappointment. "I may not be a dog, Greyback, but believe me when I tell you that I am _very _familiar with the smell of women's perfume and I say that there is nothing back there. Now let's go."_

_"__Oh ho! _You_ say! With all due respect, _sir_, we can go after I check."_

_"__Greyback." Draco growled. "There is no one here. Perhaps it's allergies that are affecting your acute sense of smell." Draco's eyebrows rose at the werewolf's glare. "No? Than perhaps age has caught up with you, my friend." He chuckled. "Not to worry, it happens to the best of us when we reach that certain age…"_

_"Get out of my way, Malfoy!" The feral beast snarled. "I don't believe you did a thorough enough check, so you will excuse me whilst I do it myself!" Greyback began to walk over to the alley way where Harry and Hermione were concealed._

_"I was chosen to head this operation! Me! Therefore, you will respect me and obey my commands. I would deem it wise to remember that you under _my_ authority, and that I have the power to rip that robe and mask away from your unworthy skin. It is a privilege, not a right, to wear those robes, Half-breed. Now let's go!" Draco had shifted his weight slightly, trying to keep the shadows resting upon Hermione._

_"__I knew we should have brought the cloak." Hermione whispered to Harry, clutching his hand tightly._

_"__We can go after I check!" The werewolf pushed Draco aside to reveal Harry and Hermione huddled behind Draco's shadow. Draco jumped in front of them and grabbed onto Hermione's hand, shielding her from Greyback and the other Snatchers._

_"__Come on!" Hermione grabbed Harry and Draco's hands and apparated them away._

_"__Hermione!" Harry yelled at her before throwing up into a near-bye bush._

_"Well I won't say I told you so!" She snapped, walking around the perimeter, muttering various spells and enchantments_

_"__What's wrong with him?" Draco asked Hermione._

_"__He really hates when I Apparate us like that... He has a really uneasy stomach when it comes to that." She laughed. Draco had always liked her laugh._

_"__Well you can't blame me for getting sick with you Apparating us so badly!"_

_"Oh, excuse me for saving our arses from Snatchers!"_

_"__Where are we Hermione?" Draco asked, looking around at the woods surrounding them, effectively interrupting Hermione's muttering rant on ungrateful, green-eyed wizards. She paused mid-rant, turning around to face Draco. "Dean's Forest. My parents used to take me camping here when I was a little girl... Before I found out about magic... Before I knew about all this." Her voice broke as she sat down on a rock in the clearing. Draco walked over to stand beside her._

_"Do you regret knowing about our world?" He asked softly._

_"No." She shook her head vehemently. "This is a part of me now... I just- Sometimes, I just miss the simplicity of a normal life, a Muggle life."_

_"You wish you didn't know about all the bad things going on in our world right now..."_

_"Sometimes," Hermione sighed._

_"What were you doing in Diagon Alley anyway?" His voice had a dangerous edge to it. "You know how dangerous it is for you to be wandering around in such places...What would you have done if I wasn't there?" He demanded._

_"I didn't think-"_

_"You're right... You didn't think. You could have died! Died, Hermione!" He was now yelling at her._

_"I'm sorry!"_

_"You being sorry won't matter if I'm the one who has to bury you!"_

_"What do you want me to do then?" She cried._

_"You need to be more careful! I'm not always going to be here to protect you!"_

_"We were looking for Olivander! We think he might have some useful information..."_

_"What were _you_ doing there?" Harry had finally emerged from the underbrush and hastened over to break up the altercation. "With Snatchers of all people?" His voice was accusatory. Draco looked down, not meeting their eyes._

_"__You're one of them." It wasn't a question or hypothesis. It was a statement._

_"__I didn't have a choice, Potter. People would have been suspicious if I wasn't." He sighed in defeat. "It wasn't right. It isn't right. But it is what I did. And it was the only way I could keep the people that I love safe." He looked at Hermione while saying this, and the subtle action did not go unnoticed by Harry. "Where is Weasley?" Draco asked, looking around as if expecting to see the cumbersome redhead appear in the middle of the clearing. "Isn't it supposed to be the three of you?" Hermione hastily looked away, not wanting Draco to see her upset._

_Harry pulled Draco aside and out of Hermione's earshot. "Ron left." Harry said shortly after a moment of awkward silence._

_"Why?" Draco was shocked._

_"Things were too hard on him I guess." He didn't meet Draco's eyes._

_"Well if you and Hermi- I mean Granger, ever need any help..." Harry's eyebrows rose at the blonde's implications._

_"__Are you really offering to stay, and be on our side, to fight with us and against everything and everyone that you have ever known?" Harry asked. Draco slowly nodded._

_"I'm not offering to stay for you, Potter... I'm offering to stay for her. If it means that I can be with Hermione, then yes. I would do anything. Even if it means we may have to do some difficult things."_

_ "__If you get into this, you cannot leave." Harry warned. "She cannot handle another person walking out on her..."_

_"__I will not leave her, Potter. I will protect her with everything that I have because if something happens to her, I will lose myself. I will cease to exist... And I will take everyone with me. I would die for her and for the chance that one day she could be happy, truly happy..._

_I think I love her."_

As Draco scanned the faces of the guests in the church, he caught his mother's eyes. Tears glistened in Narcissa's blue eyes, but she had assured him that they were happy tears. It had been so long since he remembered her being this happy... Draco supposed he had his bastard of a father to thank for that. Draco hated himself for it, but a selfish part of him still wished that Lucius could be here today... What son wouldn't want his own father at his wedding? Not that Lucius would come anyway... In Lucius' eyes Draco was a disappointment, he always had been and he always would be. And no matter how hard Draco had tried, it was never enough... His father had never been proud of him. Lucius had been more than angry, more than disgusted, and more then ashamed when the Granger-Malfoy wedding had first been announced in The Prophet. He threatened to disown Draco, punish Narcissa and had even gone as far as threatening Hermione's life.

Draco could care less about his former Death Eater friends. They deserved what they got whether it be Azkaban or a short stop and sudden drop. He had everyone he had ever needed... His mother, Blaise and his parents, Theo, and finally, Hermione. Was it so wrong to be happy that he was practically alone in the world? Was it wrong to be happy that she was all he had? No. It couldn't be. It was better this way. They were happy. They were happier now then they had been when they first admitted their love. That night in the tent…

_Horcrux Hunt, The Tent_

_It was midnight. No one was awake but him, and he was fine with that. He liked the silence of the night interrupted only by the occasional crackle of the radio or the call of a lone wolf or hoot of an owl above him. He liked watching over her as she slept. It gave him a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging. For now, it wasn't just himself that he fought to protect, it was her, the sleeping woman curled on the chair inside the tent, wrapped in his cloak. All the worries that had plagued her during the day seemed to vanish as she slept peacefully. She was beautiful... And he would do anything to make her his._

_Everything was quiet-_

_"__Hermione!" Harry had suddenly jumped up from his bed. "Hermione, it's our song!" He ran over to the chair and pulled her from it._

_"Harry?" She looked up at him through dark and sleep laden eyes. "What's wrong?"_

_"Hush. You'll hear it..." Potter was still holding her hand. Draco tried to shake the wave of jealousy that threatened to wash over him. He heard her squeal of delight and saw her accept the hand Harry had offered her, laughing as he pulled her to her feet. Draco's mouth fell open as the two began to dance around the small tent to the song playing on the radio._

If I don't say this now I will surely break

As I'm leaving the one I want to take

Forget the urgency but hurry up and wait

My heart has started to separate

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Be my baby

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Be my baby

I'll look after you

_Draco stood at the entrance of the tent, watching them for a moment. They seemed so happy, so carefree, so... normal. He wondered if this was a common Gryffindor thing. Much to his shock and dismay he found himself smiling fondly at the two. His eyes met hers and a radiant smile lit up her face. He walked towards her and tapped Harry on the shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?" Harry looked to Hermione, who smiled and shook her head no. Harry reluctantly released Hermione and handed her to Draco._

_"__Be good to her." Harry whispered in Draco's ear. Draco nodded and an unspoken agreement passed between the two men. Harry left the tent to take the second night watch, leaving Hermione and Draco inside._

_Draco placed his right hand around Hermione's waist, drawing her close._

_Hermione's left arm rested gently on Draco's toned upper arm, her thumb brushing along the inside of his arm and her fingers draped over his broad shoulder. Draco took her petite hand in his much larger and calloused hand, adjusting her fingers to fit into his. Her right hand now rested in the palm of his hand, between his thumb and forefinger. It was a perfect fit... His thumb brushed across her knuckles and he relished in the feeling of her soft, warm skin._

There now, steady love, so few come and don't go

Will you, won't you be the one I'll always know?

When I'm losing my control, the city spins around

You're the only one who knows, you slow it down

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Be my baby

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Be my baby

I'll look after you

And I'll look after you

_"Promise me something, Draco."_

_"Anything."_

_"Promise me that no matter what happens you will never leave me," she whispered, looking up into his face. He looked away._

_"Hermione, we are fighting a war... I cannot make a promise to you that I'm not sure I can keep..._

_"You have to promise me!" She pleaded with him. "Please. Please, Draco. I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone... Please do not leave me." She buried her face in his chest. He gently cupped her cheeks in his hands, forcing her to look at him._

_"I promise you that I will find a way back to you..." He whispered. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon... You'll be stuck with me for a long time, Granger." She laughed at his words as he spun her around._

If ever there was a doubt

My love she leans into me

This most assuredly counts

She says most assuredly

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Be my baby

I'll look after you

(After you)

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Be my baby

Oh, oh, oh

_"Hermione." She looked up at him questioningly at the sound of the unrepressed want in his voice. "What is love?" He whispered, his thumbs stroking her bottom lip._

_"I believe that a very few times in your life, if you're lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because you were perfect, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together. Real love is knowing someone's weakness and not taking advantage of them. Love is knowing their flaws and accepting who they are... Love is a fragile promise that burns with a passionate fire... Love is the feelings I think I have for you."_

_"Hermione, I should have told you every day from the moment I met you. I love you. I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you, not only for what you have made of yourself but for what you are making of me."_

It's always have and never hold

You've begun to feel like home

What's mine is yours to leave or take

What's mine is yours to make your own

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Be my baby

Oh, oh, oh

_When the song ended Hermione's heart fell. She had hoped the song would never end and that the moment would go on forever. It was perfect. Just her and Draco dancing to her favorite song. Harry had let Draco take her. He let them be together. He had given them his blessing and that meant a lot to her. Everything was perfect, and even though the perfection had just lasted for a moment, it would be there for a lifetime._

It was funny to think that it had been two years ago on this very day that Hermione had first heard that song. Two years ago that had been her and Harry's favorite song. Now, it was her and Draco's favorite song. Every time it played Draco would pull her close and they would sway back and forth to it's melody. Draco would kiss her and tell her how much he loved her, how much he wanted her, how much he needed her, and that she belonged to him. Now she stood at the back of the church, waiting for their song to play. It was funny that she even liked the song, for that had been the song that played in the background two years ago just after Ron had walked out on Harry and her and left them.

_The Tent, Two Years Ago_

_Hermione had been crying for three days. She refused to eat and she barely slept. Harry believed that Ron had not only broken her heart, but had broken _Hermione_ as well. They had had their fair share of fights before, but none quite like this... Ron had been under the absurd impression that Harry and Hermione had been having secret rendezvouses behind his back. Harry and Hermione had both denied it, but Ron was fed up with running around, risking his life on what he felt was like a pointless scavenger hunt, while his two best friends were hooking up together. So he had packed his bags and up and left. They had delayed leaving their previous campsite for as long as possible, waiting for him to come back, but Harry knew that Ron wasn't coming back and that it was time to press onwards._

_It wasn't late but Hermione was already in bed. In fact, she had never left the bed. Tired of the maddening silence in the tent, Harry attempted to talk to her._

_"Hermione?" He called softly. She looked up, her eyes red and puffy from crying._

_"Hermione, it will be okay." He sighed._

_"No, Harry." She sobbed. "It won't be fine... He was supposed to be _The One_. I was going to marry him, have a bunch of red-headed kids with him someday. He was my forever..." Her voice broke._

_Harry sat down on the bed beside her, and wrapped his arms around her trembling frame._

_"Hermione, nothing is forever." He said gently._

_"Love is..."_

_"Then whatever you and Ron had wasn't love was it? It will come with time, Hermione. You just have to be patient."_

_"I have been patient and I got Ron! He was the one God chose for me! He was the one I waited for! Now I have no one who loves me! My parents don't even love me! They don't even know who I am!" She had become hysterical. "I am alone..." A shudder ran through her body._

_"You have me Hermione. You've always had me and you will always have me." The radio had been playing softly, but the two had paid no attention to it until now._

Be my baby

I'll look after you

And I'll look after you

If ever there was a doubt

My love she leans into me

This most assuredly counts

She says most assuredly

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Be my baby

I'll look after you

_"You hear that Hermione? I will take care of you. One day that guy that you are waiting for will come into your life and whisk you away. He will love you, cherish you, respect you and protect you. There will always be someone there for you, whether it be me, or Ron, or someone else, there will always be someone... You will never have to face this world alone, Hermione. You just need to be patient." Hermione nodded, and leaned into his shirt, soaking it with tears._

"Harry, what if our song doesn't come on?" She had begun to pace.

"It will. It always does." Hermione nodded, but hadn't stopped pacing.

"But what if it doesn't?" She was clearly agitated.

"Than I can always go play Pachelbel's Canon in D on the piano." The comment earned him a sharp slap to the arm.

"Come on... Come on." She muttered to herself closing her eyes, silently praying.

_If I don't say this now I will surely break_

_As I'm leaving the one I want to take_

_Forget the urgency but hurry up and wait_

_My heart has started to separate_

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"See? I told you. Are you ready to go now?" Harry asked. "Draco looks like he's going to wet himself... Not that that wouldn't be funny, hilarious actually, but-" She just nodded, not opening her eyes quite yet, allowing herself to be lost in the song's melody and memories. When she opened her eyes again, she saw him. He was dressed in a black Armani tuxedo that fit him perfectly, cut to precision, bold across the shoulders, with gentle lines around the waist. His blonde platinum hair wasn't slicked back with gel, but fell lose into his eyes. The sight of his winsome smile took her breath away. He was beautiful... As she begin to walk down the long aisle, she was surprised that she wasn't nervous. She knew that this was the right choice. She knew that she loved him and that he loved her. She knew it was going to be alright because she had Draco to look after her now.

**Author's Note: We hope you enjoyed Chapter Two and apologize for the wait and inconsistency of our updates! Hopefully you guys can find it in yourselves to forgive us :) What did you guys think about this chapter? Like it, love it, think it could be better? Please leave us a review and tell us what you think! We really love hearing from our readers and hearing some of your suggestions... Thanks for reading!**

**~2OwlsATweeting**


	3. Happiness In the Darkest Times

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Queen Rowling. We are not making any profit for this story and intend no copyright. We write for the joy of it and to satisfy our inner fangirl, perhaps you can relate. Enjoy!**

_**Chapter Three~ Happiness In the Darkest Times**_

Draco's heart constricted painfully in his chest at the sight of her. He couldn't breathe. She was beautiful. He didn't know how it was possible, but she was his. She had chosen him to spend the rest of her life with. _Him._ What had he ever done to deserve her? He was evil and cold, born and bred to be a Death Eater, a murder, a Muggle-hating fanatic. He had hurt her over and over again. He would laugh at the sight of her tears, and gloat at the sound of her sobs. He had been one twisted, sick bastard. He could love her and cherish her for the rest of his life but he knew that that would never make up for all the pain and hurt he had caused her. And God, did he love her.

He wished he could blame someone... His father, perhaps. But in his heart he knew he had no one to blame but himself. And every time she stood in front of the mirror for a moment too long, biting her lip, he knew exactly what she was thinking, and he blamed himself. It was his fault that this confident woman doubted herself, that this beautiful witch thought she wasn't pretty enough, that this perfect creature thought she wasn't good enough. She deserved someone so much better...

When he had voiced this opinion aloud she had become visibly upset, saying that he had no right to dictate who deserved her and who didn't. She had said her heart was hers to give away and she had entrusted it to him to keep safe. He had insisted that she was drunk on Firewhiskey, that she didn't know what she was doing or even who she talking too and that she should find the weasel. It had killed him to say it, but it had to be said, and it had been for her own good. And then she had blatantly told him she wouldn't take it back. Which was ridiculous because you couldn't give your heart away in the first place. Never the less, he had accepted, giving his word that he would protect her heart with everything he had.

And so here they were, gathered inside St. George's Cathedral about to become husband and wife._ Wow._ He had to remind himself to keep breathing. _In. Out. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat._ Draco had begun to sweat slightly. His insides had become like jelly. Draco wrinkled his nose in distaste. Malfoys did not get nervous. The only time he had been this nervous had been in the moments leading up to the moment where he had gotten down on one knee and asked her to marry him...

_The Great Hall_

_It had been in the weeks following the Great War... Potter had triumphed over the Dark Lord (about damn time too), who had ironically died at the hand of his own wand. While Draco had wanted her to return to Malfoy Manor with him immediately, Hermione had stubbornly refused, insisting that they remain at Hogwarts to help with the rebuilding process. Kingsley Shaklebolt had been appointed as Minister of Magic and no further questions had been asked. Minerva McGonogall presided over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as its rightful headmistress. Harry, Draco, and Ron had been tasked with tracking down the remaining Death Eaters, who had attempted to flee after their master's demise, and throwing their sorry arses in Azkaban. Hermione had wanted to join them but after several arguments, tears, and tantrums, it had been decided that Hogwarts was the safest place for her in the time being._

_Draco had found her sitting on the stone steps of the Great Hall, gazing at the rubble and ruin. Her eyes shone, not with happiness, he realized, but with unshed tears. He sat down next to her, and wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, holding her. "So much has changed," she whispered. "So many people have been lost... Professor Snape, one of the bravest men I have ever known, Lavender, who for all her foolishness and faults was a dear friend of mine, for Remus and Tonks, who died trying to make the world a better place for their son, a son who will never remember their faces or the sound of their voices... And Fred." Her voice broke. "I miss them, Draco. I miss them terribly, perhaps Fred most of all." She chocked on her words. "He could make anyone smile. He would have liked you, Draco. You two would have gotten along..." She had begun to shake, trying to repress her sobs._

_"It's okay to cry, my love. You need to grieve. You don't have to be strong all the time, you know. You don't have to be afraid of breaking every once in a while... You don't have to be afraid of not being in control..." Hermione's heart wrenching wails echoed throughout the cavernous halls. Draco held her tightly, rocking back and forth, while gently shushing her. "I'm right here, Princess," he whispered. "You don't have to do this on your own." Draco didn't know how long they sat on those stone steps, whether it be two minutes or two hours, but eventually, Hermione's sobs turned into sniffles._

_"Do not dwell on the sad things that occurred in this hall, remember the happy times that you shared with the people who died in this hall. Remember when you were first sorted into your house, that feeling of unsuppressed joy and belonging. Remember all the laughs shared at breakfast time and all the jokes told at dinner time. Do you remember having to sleep in here because Potter's crazy godfather, my cousin, was running amuck? Do you remember dancing the night away at the Yule Ball or when Fred and George choreographed that amazing firework display, totally pissing Umbridge off? Do you remember the moment when our eyes met across this hall for the first time? Or when we would send letters to each other every morning?" He paused. "If you remember none of that, then remember this. Remember me getting down on one knee and doing this."_

_Hermione's eyes widened as Draco took ahold of both her hands and pulled her to her feet, dropping down onto one knee in front of her._

_"This is the place I first realized I was in love with you. And God, Hermione, God am I in love with you. I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you." He paused and looked up at her, into her warm, brown eyes. She was smiling. "You were my only light in a sea of darkness during a time in which I thought I would crumble and fall. And when I did fall, you were there to catch me. It is because of you that I am the man I am now. Not a perfect man, but a _good_ man. You made me _good_, my love. And I shall never be able to repay you for that." Her eyes sparkled with tears once more. Draco took a deep breathe, trying to compose himself._

_"Hermione, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to be the mother of our beautiful children and I want to grow old you, watch our children grow old and I want to die with you. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, protecting you, and cherishing you. And Hermione, I will never let you go. I will fight for what we have because it's something special, magical, and wanted. I will never stop loving you because I know that if I do, someone else will. And if I lose you, I will have lost my best friend, my laugh, my smile, my soulmate, my everything. If I lose you I will lose myself... So what do you say to eternity, darling? Will you marry me?"_

_Hermione gasped when he pulled a tiny black box out from his pocket. Nestled inside was the most gorgeous diamond ring she had ever laid eyes on. It was classically elegant, showcasing a pair of tapered brilliant baguette diamonds set in enduring platinum. "Oh, Draco..." Her hands went to cover her lips as her eyes filled with tears. They were happy tears._

_"Does this mean yes?" She let out a watery laugh at his question._

_"Yes, Draco. Yes, yes, yes!"_

Of course she had said yes. How could she not? She smiled radiantly as she walked down the aisle on her best friend's arm, her dancing chocolate eyes never leaving his. And suddenly she was beside him. "You look beautiful," he whispered, brushing his lips over her hand. A light blush spread across her cheeks.

"And you don't look too bad yourself, Mr. Malfoy." She winked at him, coaxing a slight chuckle from him, which quickly turned into a cough when he realized the minister had begun to speak.

"One of my favorite authors once wrote_, _"If love is not all, then it is nothing: this principle, and its opposite, collide down all the years of my breathless tale." Hermione and Draco, your breathless tale is about to begin. If love is not all, then it is nothing. It's opposite – If love is all, then it is everything – is going to be the basis for every aspect of your relationship. All you have to do is simply love one another and that love shows through in everything you do for one another, how you treat each other, in good times and bad.

Love isn't just a word; it's an isn't something you say, it's something you do. Love is genuine, honest, and open, compassionate and kind, passionate and blind, love doesn't know space or time, nor look through jealous eyes, and in the modified words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never dies."

There are many different kinds of love, almost if not all of which are represented here today. There is romantic love, the love of parents and children, of brothers and sisters and family, and love among friends. Not only do Hermione and Draco love one another romantically – and they do, you can see it in every look, every touch, every moment they're together – they also love one another as friends. In fact, they're best friends, constantly giggling and taunting and teasing and very plainly and obviously having fun together.

That love and enjoyment of each other as best friends will sustain them through this marriage. In addition, the love collectively in this room, from friends and family, will help sustain and support the promises they make today. All of us here will help solidify this bond, as these two individuals are joined as husband and wife.

This new journey will be at times richly rewarding and extremely difficult, but, most importantly, it will be a journey you take together. You see, marriage is much more than your signatures on a legal contract. You are promising, in front of all these people you love, that you want to be with each other and only each other for the rest of your lives, and that you will do everything in your power to honor the promises you are making here today. For their part, the people who love you will also do everything in their power to try to help you hold up your end of the bargain.

I now ask the congregation before me... Is there anyone here who objects to this marriage taking place? Speak now or forever hold your peace!" Draco and Hermione held their breath. Of course there was going to be an objection. There was always an objection...

_Malfoy Manor, The Granger-Malfoy Engagement Party_

_"A word, Hermione?" The brunette nodded, placing a peck on her fiancé's cheek as she stood to follow Ron into the kitchen. Ron took a deep breath. "Are you sure about this, Hermione?"_

_"Yes," Hermione replied immediately. "More sure then I've ever been about anything else in my entire life."_

_"But-" Ron struggled to form a coherent sentence. "It's Malfoy... He's evil, Mione! He must have put you under some kind of spell, the Imperious perhaps-"_

_"That's ridiculous, Ronald, and you know it." Hermione snapped. "Draco would do no such thing-"_

_"He's using you, Hermione! He just wants to get into your knickers-"_

_"Stop it, Ron. Please."_

_"He tortured and killed innocent people for the fun it! He called you a Mudblood for years, made your life, our lives, a living hell-"_

_"He's changed, Ron! He's a good man... He's not the same boy we knew at Hogwarts..."_

_"Malfoy will_ never_ be a good person!" Ron roared._

_"If you would just try to get to know him-"_

_"Why would I want to get to know him?" Ron snarled._

_"Because you're my friend and I'm getting married to him in six months!"_

_"I don't understand you, Hermione! You hated Malfoy!"_

_"No, Ron._ You_ hated Draco. Draco was there for me every time you turned your back on me! Why is it so hard for you to accept that I'm happy, truly happy, with him?" Hermione cried. Ron was silent. "It's because he's not you, isn't it?" She asked sadly. "You were my best friend, Ron. I would've hoped you would have supported me... It hurts that after all this time, after everything he's done, not only for me, but for our side, that you still don't trust him... And what really hurts is that you don't trust_ my judgement."

_"How can I trust your judgement when your supposed love for a_ murder clouds_ it! He is a Death Eater, Hermione! And that will_ never_ change!"_

_"You think he's the prejudiced one, but it's you! You cannot get over the fact that I am in love with him despite all his flaws and past mistakes! Is that really so hard to accept? He's a good man, Ron! He loves me and would never hurt-"_

_"One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness!"_

_"Though it seems enough to condemn him." Hermione shot back._

_"No matter how hard he tries, Malfoy will always be a Death Eater and he will always bear the Dark Mark to prove it. He was raised as a Death Eater, by a Death Eater and neither of you can change that." Ron snarled._

_"You're wrong." Hermione whispered, tears pricking the corners of her eyes._

_"You love me." His voice broke. Hermione shook her head sadly._

_"I'm sorry, Ron. I did once... A long time ago."_

_"Don't lie to me!" He shouted, his face turning red in anger. "We had something special!" Hermione took a hasty step backwards in alarm. "I love you, Mione." He whispered, reaching out to stroke her cheek._

_"Ron." Her voice was higher than normal. "Things have changed, Ron."_

_"But they don't have to..." He murmured, pulling her closer. "We could be together again. We could make it work..."_

_"Ron, I-"_

_"Run away with me." He whispered, brushing his lips over hers. Hermione froze._

_"Ron-" And then he was kissing her._

_Hermione struggled against his hold, trying to push him away. Spurred on by her futile attempts to escape, Ron pulled her closer, bruising her lips with his. He propelled her backwards, pushing her up against the wall as he continued his assault. Hermione groaned in pain as her back slammed into the wall. Mistaking her groans as moans of pleasure, Ron trailed his lips down the column of her lovely neck, biting at the juncture of her shoulder. As soon as his lips left her mouth, Hermione began to scream, crying out for Draco. Ron roughly covered her mouth with his hand, stifling her pleas for help. Hermione struggled harder when she felt his hand trailing up her body, groping at her chest._

_When Draco entered the kitchen his vision blurred and he saw red. Weasley had Hermione pinned against the kitchen wall as he ravished her resisting body with his filthy mouth and hands. Draco grabbed Ron by the collar of his shirt and threw him off Hermione who drew in deep, shuddering breaths as Ron was ripped away from her. She looked up into the swirling, terrifying eyes of her fiancé. "Draco." Her resolve broke and she collapsed into his arms as he pulled her into a tight embrace._

_"Hermione, are you okay, baby?" Draco asked her urgently. Hermione sobbed as she shook her head. Something in Draco snapped._

_"Oh, Merlin. What have I done?" Ron whispered horrified, reaching out to touch Hermione._

_"Don't touch me!" She screeched, pressing herself closer to Draco, who tightened his hold around her waist. Harry Potter entered the kitchen and started at the scene laid out before him. Hermione was sniffling into Draco's chest, who looked murderous. Ron cowered in fear._

_"Take her to your house, Potter." Draco growled through clenched teeth. "You are not leave her side until I arrive. Weasley and I are going to have a nice little chat..."_

_After Hermione had left the kitchen with her friend, Draco grabbed Ron by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "Listen here, you little weasel," he snarled. "I'm going to count to five... If I get to three and you're still here I will crush your skull. If I get to four, I will tear you apart limb by limb for what you have done to Hermione. If I get to five, I am going to throw your torso through this wall and down five stories. And then, then I'll jump down myself to see if you're still alive. And if you are... I will finish the job, slowly and painfully. Do you understand me?" Draco growled. Ron audibly gulped. "Get. Out." Draco released Ron and shoved him, hard._

Needless to say, Draco was quite pleased that Weasley hadn't shown up at the wedding. Hermione gave his hand a gentle squeeze, effectively breaking Draco from his reverie and raised an eyebrow at him. Draco leaned down to whisper in his bride's ear. "I was lost in a memory."

"That's a good place to be." Hermione whispered back.

"I much prefer this enchanting reality in which I am marrying you..." He nipped lightly at her ear. Lost in each other, Draco and Hermione started when they realized that the priest had addressed them.

"I'm sorry can you repeat the question?" Draco asked. Their family and friends laughed as the priest rolled his eyes.

_"Draco _and Hermione, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?" Draco beamed down at Hermione.

"We have."

"Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your life?"

"We will." Hermione answered, smiling brilliantly.

"And will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?"

Draco deep a breath. The thought of children terrified him. What if he was a dreadful father? What if his son turned out to be just like him? What if his child hated him? What if-" His eyes met Hermione's and every fear vanished for the time being.

"Yes." He responded resolutely. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Of course we will." He murmured, stroking Hermione's hand with the pad of his thumb.

"The rings, if you please." The priest requested. Blaise Zabini hurried forward, presenting the platinum rings to the minister. Draco picked up the simple diamond ring, gently placing it on his bride's finger.

"I, Draco, take you, Hermione Granger, as my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I promise to love you and honor you all the days of my life."

"And I, Hermione, take you, Draco Malfoy, to be my lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, or for worse, for richer, or for poorer, though knowing you most likely richer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part." Hermione began to tear up.

"By the power invested to me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Draco, you may now kiss the bride." The priest declared.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do this." Draco whispered, as he pulled his wife closer. The crowd cheered when the couple's lips met and fireworks exploded in Hermione's stomach. Draco dipped her, their lips never parting. When the need for air become absolutely necessary, Draco pulled away, panting heavily.

"God, I love you." Hermione whispered, her forehead resting against Draco's.

"I love you too, Mrs. Malfoy. Merlin, that's got a good ring to it, doesn't it?" Hermione laughed and wrapped her arms around her husband.

"Thank you, Draco." She whispered, closing her eyes.

"Whatever for?"

"For making me happy, truly happy."

**Final Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading our first ever Dramione fanfiction! We really hope you have liked it as much as we have come to like it. We would also like to thank all our followers, favorites and reviewers for motivating us to finally get this done! Be on the look-out around Christmastime for one more chapter with "extra scenes" that we had to exclude from this fanfiction, sadly. If any of our readers have an Instagram or Twitter account, follow us 2owlsatweeting for updates, sneak-peaks, and more! If any of you are interested in Percy Jackson, be sure to check out our newest story, Jumpers!**

**We thank you all so much for your continued support!**

**Love, Katherine &amp; Kathleen**


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